Broward School Board member questions district's hiring of auditor

Broward School Board member Stephanie Kraft is questioning how outside accountants hired to scrutinize a controversial internal audit can do so without all the paperwork.

The school district hired Dick, Pollack & Brant to review the audit, which accuses contractor AshBritt Inc. of overcharging taxpayers $765,000 for Hurricane Wilma repairs. AshBritt disputes the report and has threatened to sue.

Dick, Pollack & Brant will act as expert witnesses if the district goes to court to recoup some or all of the money, administrators said.

The firm was given the 48-page report but not the voluminous backup documents used to write the audit.

"It is my humble opinion that if we are planning on using this outside accounting firm as expert witnesses, we are setting ourselves up for an embarrassing cross examination if we don't provide them with all of the documents," Kraft wrote in an e-mail to the board and administrators.

School Board Attorney Ed Marko has said the firm, which is billing up to $400 an hour, is receiving the "significant documents" needed to assess what is due the district.

School Board Chairwoman Jennifer Gottlieb said the only document she's really concerned with at this point is one demanding the $765,000 back.

"I'm just upset that our attorney hasn't sent a demand letter," Gottlieb said.

Charlotte Greenbarg, president of the Broward Coalition, agreed with Kraft, saying the firm will come off looking more like an expert witness for the opposition.

Greenbarg is also a member of the district's Audit Committee, an oversight group of board-appointed citizens, and said she plans to raise the issue at Thursday's meeting.